Coverture

Coverture, also known as feme covert, was a legal doctrine whereby a wife's civic life was completely subsumed by her husband's, enshrined in the common law of England until the late 19th century. A wife was obligated to obey her husband, her propety was his, her domestic and sexual services were his, and even the children were legally his. Women also could not keep their wages, make contracts, or sue or be sued. Coverture was implemented in both Britain and the United States, with state law varying in the latter case; women could vote in New Jersey until 1807. From 1870 to 1903, Britain abolished coverture in a series of Married Women's Property Acts, and it was abolished in the USA between 1839 and the end of the century.